OLM Parent Newsletter

Blessed are You, Lord God,

Creator of body and mind and heart;

You have sent the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge

to guide Your people in all their ways.

At the beginning of this new school year

we implore Your mercy:

bless the students, teachers, and staff of the Our Lady of Mercy School

that together we may grow in faith, hope, and love

as we learn from You and each other

how to follow Your Son Jesus.

Expand the horizons of our minds,

that we may grow in wisdom,

understanding, and knowledge;

deepen our commitment to seek the truth of Your ways;

and enliven our faith to reach out to those in need.

Glory and praise to You, Lord God,

in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.

Amen.

Hello, OLM Families!

Welcome to school year 2022 - 2023 to all of you! We are so excited to see you all as we begin another fun and learning-filled school year!

Our theme for this school year is a quote from St. Jerome, "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best." In everything that we do, let us aim to give our best for our students and the community we serve. As we would always remind our students, let's do our best and God will do the rest!

We are bracing ourselves to continue the great work that we do at our school as we embark on our Accreditation Preparation Year. Over the years, our school community has always done an outstanding job in providing a faith-based Catholic education that engages and nourishes our students' spiritual, academic, social, and emotional formation that empowers them to be of service to God and others. We have been blessed with the seal of accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Western Catholic Educational Association. Our commitment for school improvement, excellence, faithful stewardship for the community we serve is at the core of everything that we do. The Accreditation work, while tedious at times, is exciting work in our quest to make our good better and our better best. We invite all the members of the school community to actively participate in this journey.

With all the great work that we did in navigating our way out of the pandemic, we begin this school year ready to get going as we hopefully continue to get back to our "normal" operations. You can expect easing up on our safety plans while aligning all efforts with CPDH and County guidelines. You can be assured that we will remain focused on the protection of the health and safety of everyone in our community. We ask for your continued understanding and support.

Shout out goes to our summer staff - Ms. Mitzie Dearden, Ms. Zarah Llemos, Ms. Sue Noma, Mr. Nino Siordia, our Maintenance Team - for getting our campus ready for the new school year.

Ahead of us is a great school year! We have an awesome team ready to take care of our awesome community. Let's get rolling! See you all very soon!

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Burgos

Principal

Please find below orientation information for all Kindergarten, new, and Resource Program (for those with students in the Program only) families.

Kindergarten Playdate / Orientation

Who: Kindergarteners (TK included) and their parents
When: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 13th
Where: Kindergarten Play Yard (in front of the Kindergarten classrooms)

New Families

Who: Students new to OLM and their Parents

When: 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 13th

Where: Church Hall

Resource Families

Who: Resource Program Students and their parents

When: 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17th

Where: Church Hall

With COVID-19 restrictions easing up, we still remain mindful on best practices to protect the health and safety of everyone. We have made changes on our Safety Plans to reflect County Recommendations/ Guidelines. In some cases, we are taking more stringent measures as needed to curtail the spread of virus on campus.

On wearing masks:

"Masks, particularly high-quality and well-fitting masks, remain highly effective, inexpensive, and dynamic tools to protect oneself and mitigate transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens." (San Mateo COVID-19 Safety Plan)

CDPH continues to strongly recommend individuals to mask in indoor settings.

At OLM, wearing masks on-campus is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

Please note that masking may be required during the following:

• Ten days since last day of contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case

• As mandated or recommended by the County.

• As determined necessary by the school administration.

On COVID-19 testing:

COVID-19 testing may be required:

• After an extended break: All students and staff may be required (or strongly recommended) to have a COVID-19 test after an extended break (summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). Students / Staff testing positive must follow isolation / quarantine requirements.

  Students / staff members determined NOT having completed the test (and obtaining a negative result) may be asked to leave the campus until a negative test result is obtained.

• To all employees and students with COVID-19 symptoms. Employees and students experiencing COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home and will only be allowed to return to school with a proof of negative COVID-19 test result. See COVID-19 Safety Plan for requirements for those testing positive for COVID-19.

• When there is a known exposure to a positive case. All staff members and students, regardless of vaccination status, are required to test three to five days after the last point of contact with a positive case.

Note: Those who tested positive within 90 days ARE NO LONGER EXEMPT from the testing requirement.

• Unvaccinated staff members and volunteers are required to test weekly. See p. 11 of the San Mateo Safe Schools Framework.

• As determined by school administration: Testing will be required should there be a significant rise in cases on campus.

Though the school will no longer be collecting the test results as we did in the past, we ask for everybody's compliance to protect the health and safety of everyone on campus. We will only ask that positive cases be reported and dealt with accordingly.

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Note: Guidelines may change during the school year. We will be reviewing our guidelines as a staff and make changes as needed while adhering to recommendations and guidelines from CDC, CDPH, and the County, including the County Office of Education.

All staff members and students are strongly recommended to complete COVID-19 testing and obtain a negative result before returning to school. If you need a testing kit for your child, just stop by the office and we will have a box available for you.

Should your child test positive, please do let us know and we will advise you of guidelines as needed.

All students are expected to:

• Bring two face masks (even those choosing not to wear masks on non-masking required days) for use and as needed.

• Bring their personal hand sanitizer and wipes for use during the day

• Use hand sanitizer or wash their hands thoroughly during the day, especially after returning from their morning and lunch recesses.

• Bring a reusable water bottle for use during the day.

Morning dropoff is from 7:45 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. On non-rainy days, all other students will be allowed to walk around the yard, engage in non-strenuous games / activities while waiting for 8:00 a.m. Kindergarten students will stay in the kindergarten play yard only. On rainy days, students will go straight to their classrooms with their teachers providing them supervision. Morning assembly will start as students line up at the yard at 8:00 a.m.

Parents may now join us in our daily assembly at the yard but may not be in the classrooms unless prior arrangements have been made with the classroom teachers. (See section on volunteering in classrooms)

There will be two morning dropoff points namely

(1) on top of the hill on the Upper Yard

(2) Gate by the Kindergarten classrooms

Students arriving before 7:45 a.m. will proceed to Clubhouse for Before School Supervision. If you intend to drop off your child before 7:45 a.m. during the school year, please make sure that you register your child in our Clubhouse Program. Students not registered in the Program who need to be sent to our Before School program will be assessed the Clubhouse drop in fee accordingly.

Afternoon Pickup for ALL students

Mondays: 2:30 p.m.

Tuesdays to Fridays: 3:00 p.m.

Minimum Days 12:30 p.m.

We shall follow our carline procedures for Grades K - 8. Cars will enter through the Gate on Southgate, drive up the hill, and proceed to the side where their children’s classrooms are. In cases of siblings, the older child will join his / her younger sibling at dismissal.

Parents may also pick up their children from their designated dismissal area no earlier than 3:00 p.m.

As in the past years, students will be waiting by their classrooms as they wait for their rides. Parents of “walkers” need to have a waiver signed before students are allowed to walk home. “Walkers” will be dismissed after the carline students have been dismissed.

Summer Assignments and Supply Lists: All incoming Grades 1 - 8 students have summer assignments and Supply Lists given before the end of the school year. Please click on the following link: OLM Summer Assignments and Supply Lists.

School Uniforms: If you need to purchase uniforms, it is best that you do so as soon as possible. Just like the past couple of years, we are not hosting uniform sales on-campus, hence, families need to go to Dennis Uniforms at 590 10th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, or place your orders online at the following link: Dennis Uniforms.

New students: Please submit updated immunization records, birth certificate, copy of baptismal certificate to the school office on or before Aug. 15th.

Proof of TDap shot: All incoming 7th Graders are required to submit proof of Tdap shots no later than September 5th, 2022.

We are still accepting accepting students in Clubhouse, our Before and After School Program. Please see Mr. Ryan or send an email to clubhouse@olmbulldogs.com.

The following reminders are for those registered in our Before and After-School Program.

1. Complete your Clubhouse Addendum to the OLM School Emergency Card on schoolspeak by Monday, August 22nd - The first day of Clubhouse.

2. Clubhouse payments will be through your school FACTS Account

3. Morning drop offs are through the main door for the school office. Drop your child off in Room 8b.

4. Clubhouse in the afternoon will still take place in the classroom below the Fourth Grade Classroom.

5. Label All of the Following with your Child’s Name:

• School Uniforms

• PE Uniforms

• Playclothes

• Water bottles

• All accessories

6. Mark Your Calendars - Clubhouse is Closed on the Following Dates:

• Thursday and Friday, August 18th & 19th

• Monday, October 31st - Halloween (Open AM Only)

• Friday, November 18th - Thanksgiving Break Begins (Open AM Only)

• Wednesday, December 21st - Christmas Break Begins (Open AM Only)

• Thursday, April 6th - Holy Thursday - Easter Break Begins (Open AM Only)

• Friday, June 9th - Last Day of School

7. For more information please use this link: Clubhouse Handbook

8. Clubhouse Email: clubhouse@olmbulldogs.com

Our Lady of Mercy School, mindful of its mission to be witness to the love of Christ for all, admits student of any race, color, and national and/or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded to or made available to students at this school.

Our Lady of Mercy School does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color,

national and/or ethnic origin, age, gender or disability in administration of educational

policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.